Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
8556
lhi$ invention relates to a new bottle closure
adapted to be used for sales promotion, and more specifi-
cally, to a re-sealable bottle closure for sales promotionO
Crown caps have heretofore been widely used as
bottle closures for sale.s promotionO ~hese crown caps
permit a removal of the entire gasket, but this mechanism
canno~ be applied to closures which require re-sealing,
such as screw closuresO With the development of various
re-sealable bottle closures in recent years, there has been
an increasing tendency toward selling beverages in large-
capacity containersO The manufacturers and distributors
- of such bottled beverages have shown a stronger desire for
incorporating the indication of prize offer into the closures
of such large-capacity contai.ners with a view to promoting
salesO
It is an object of this invention to provide a
~: re-sealable bottle closure for sales promotionO
Another object of this invention is to provide
a re-sealable bottle closure for saIes promotion in whi.ch
the center panel part alone can be very ea.sily peeled off
while leaving the sealing portion of the gasketO
Other objects and advantages of the invention
will be apparent from the following description
:,
` According to this invention, there is provided
a bottle closure for sales promotion comprising a closure
shell having the indication of a prize offer on its inner
; bottom surface and a gas~et bonded to its inner bottom
surface, the gasket having a center panel portion held
half-adhered to the inner bottom surface of the closure
3 shell or held non-adhering and a peripheral sealing portion
-- 2 --
. ~
~8556
firmly adhered to the inner bottom surface of the closure
shell, the center panel portion being completel,y defined
from the peripheral sealing portion by a breakable line
so that the center panel portion can be stripped off from
the inner bottom surface of the closure shell while leaving
the peripheral sealing portionO
The closure of the present invention is described
hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings in
which:
Figure 1 is a partly cut-away side elevation of
the closure of this invention;
Figure 2 is a top plan of the closure of the
invention with its inside on top;
Figure ~ is an enlarged sectional view taken
along the line I-I of Figure 2;
Figure 4 is an enlarged view, partly in section,
of a modification of the closure shown in Figure 2, in
which the indication of a prize offer is given transferably;
Figure 5 is a top plan of another embodiment of
the closure of the invention wit~l its inside on top;
Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken
along the line II-II of Figure 5; and
Figure 7 is a top plan showing various shapes,
(~), (B), (C), of the tear strip portion of the closure
of this invention with the inside of the closure on topO
In Figure 1 which shows the entire arrangement
' of the bottle closure provided by the present invention~
closure 1 consists basically of a shell 2 having the
indication 4 of a priz,e offer on its inner bottom surface 3,
8556
and a gasek.t 5 bonded to the inner bottom surface 3O As
a typical example, Figure 1 shows a "roll-on" pilfer proof
cap shell 2 having a circular panel a and in a skirt por-
tion extending downwardly from its peripheral edge, a
thread-forming portion b, a slit portion c and a pilfer
proof band dO ~he present inventiont however, is also
applicable to other types of bottle closures such as a
roll-on cap shell, a pre-screw cap shell or a lug cap shellO
~he material of the gasket applied to such a
closure shell is not critical, and various synthetic resins
ordinarily used in the art are also feasible in this inven-
: tionO lypical examples are polyolefins such as polyethylene
or polypropylene, rubbers such as a styrene-butadiene rubber,
and polyvinyl chlorideO Polyethylene is an especially suit-
able material for the gasket for use in the present inventionO
The indication of a prize offer on the inner bottom
surface 3 of the closure shell can be provided by printing
as in the case of conventional crown caps for sales promo-
~ tionO It is adapted to be transferred to -the gasket to be
~: 20 peeled off, as requiredO Such a transferable indication ~^
of a prize offer is known, and disclosed, for example, in
` UO SD Patents 3257021~ 3361281, 3581690, and 3633781O
~he first characteristic feature of the closure
" of this invention is that the center panel portion 6 of the
gasket 5 is selectively held half-adhered to the inner bottom
- surface 3 of the closure shell 2 or non-adhering, and the
~ peripheral sealing portion 7 of the gasket 5 is firmly bond-
: ed to the inner bottom surface 3 of the closure shellO
~hroughout the present specification and the
- 4 -
; , . ~ . - , , :
, ~ ~ . , . -
1~855i6
appended claims, the term "cen-ter panel portion" of the
gasket denotes -the -thin central portion of the gasket which
does not make contact with the sealing end (the portion
indicated by -the letter "S" in Figure 1) of a container
to be closedO ~he term "peripheral sealing portion" of the
gasket, denotes the thick peripheral edge portion of the
gasket which comes into close engagement with the seaLing
end of a container to be closed to form a gas- and liquid-
tight sealO
Any known method can be used to hold the center
panel portion of the gasket half-adhered to the inner bottom
surface of the closure shell or non-adhering, and to cause
the peripheral sealing portion of the gasket to adhere firmly
to the inner bottom surface of the closure shellO For example,
this can be accomplished by coating or printing a lacquer
or ink, which adheres firmly to a gasket material applied,
on that zone of the inner bottom surface of the closure
shell with which the peripheral sealing portion of the
gasket makes contact, and a lacquer or ink, which adheres
weakly, or does not substantially adhere, to the gasket
material applied, on that zone which makes contact with
the center panel portion of the gasketO An alternative
method comprises coating the entire inner bottom surface
of the closure shell with a lacquer or ink which adheres
firmly to the gasket material applied, and performing
entire surface or halftone dot printing on that zone of
the inner bottom surface of the closure shell which makes
contact with the center panel portion of the gasket using
a lacquer or ink which does not substantially adhere to
- 5
85~6
the gasket material, whereby the adhering condition of
the center panel portion of the gasket to the halftone
dot printed portion of the inner bottom surface of the
closure shell can be adjusted between a half-adhering
state and a substantially non-adhering stateO
~urthermore, by utilizing the method disclosed
in German Offenlegungsschrift 2711727, only the center
panel portion of the gasket can be maintained half-ahdered
to the inner bo-ttom surface of the closure shellO ~he
methods disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications
NosO 126484/1974 and 150188/1977 can also be utilizedO
When polyethylene is used as a gasket material,
a lacquer or ink for firm bonding may be the one composed
mainly of oxidized polyethylene as disclosed in British
Patent ~pecification ~oO 1,484,2090 Lacquers or inks for
half-bonding or non-bonding include a blend of a small
proportion of oxidized polyethylene with another compatible --?
resin, or those containing an epoxy-phenol resin, an epoxy-
urea resin, or an alkyd resinO When polyvinyl chloride is
: 20 used as a material for the gasket, the lacquer or ink for
firm bonding may be the one which consist mainly of a vinyl
chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer ox an acrylic resinO
Lacquers or inks for non-bonding are preferably those which
contain an epoxy-phenol resin, an epoxy-urea resin, or an
alkyd resin as a main componentO
Another characteristic feature of the closure
of this invention is that the center panel portion 4 of
the gasket 5 i.s completely separated from the peripheral
sealing portion 7 of the gasket 5 by a breakable line 80
-- 6 --
1~8556
As is clear from ~igure 2, the breakable line 8 can be
formed in a complete annular shape in proximity to the
peripheral sealing portion 7 of the gasket 50 The break-
able line 8 may be a score incised on the center panel
portion 6 of the gasket 5, as shown in ~igure 1 or 3D Or
it may be a slit-like line which extends to the inner bottom
surface 3 of the closure shell, or a perforation line..
; In short, any line is feasible which can permit the separa-
ti.on of the center panel portion 6 from the peripheral
sealing portion 7 along the breakable line 8 without any
great forceO
Since the center panel portion 6 is held half-
adhered to the inner bottom surface 3 of the closure shell
2 or non-adhering by a half-adhering or non-adhering lacquer
layer Ll as shown in ~igure 3~ it can be readily raised
~: by hooking the tip of a finger nail or a pointed tool 1'
in the breakable line 8 and pulling it upwardlyO The force
~ to raise the center panel 6 results in the breaking of the
,~ .
: breakable line 8, and the center panel 6 can be separated
.~ 20 from the inner bottom surface 3 of the closure shell and
>:,
finally can be taken out of the closure shell leaving the
peripheral sealing portion 70
. Since the indication of a prize offer 4 is pro-
,`r vided on the inner bottom surface ~ of the closure shell
which is beneath the center panel 6, it becomes visible as
a result of the removal of the center panelO
In an alternative embodiment shown in ~igure 4,
the indication 4 of a prize offer is printed on a lacquer
layer L2 to which the gasket adheres firmly, and a lacquer
.
-- 7
~8556
layer ~ which is substantially non-adhering to the lacquer
layer L2 is provided in an area between -the lacquer layer
L2 and the inner bottom surface of the closure shell which
corresponds to the center panel portion 6. According to
this embodiment, the lacquer layer L2 breaks at the part
shown by dotted line in the drawing by the operation of
separating -the center panel portion 5, and is thus lifted
together with the center panel portion 6O Consequently,
the indication 4 of a prize offer is transferred to the back
surface of the center panel 6~ and removed from the closure
shellO rlhe center panel portion 6 having the indication 4
of pri%e offer so transferred can be directly used for the
purpose of assigning the prizeD
In order to obviate the use of a tool for separat-
ing the center panel portion 6 or to render the separation
easier, a knob 9 may be provided at a part of the periphery
of the center panel as shown by a dotted l.ine in Figures 2
and 3O rrhe shape and size of the knob 9 are not critical,
and it may be of such a size and shape which permit hold-
ing by fingersO Advantageously, it has a height of about
2 to 5 mm, and a maximum diameter of about 2 to 5 mm,
although the dimensions may vary according to the size of the
closure shellO The shape of -the knob 9 ~ay, for example, be
dome-like,. spherical, sylindrical, o~ rectangular piller-shapedO
According to a preferred embodiment to be des-
cribed hereinbelow with reference to Figures 5 and 6, a
tear strip portion which can be cut and lifted by being
partially defined by a breakable line may be provided in
the center panel in order to faci.litate the separation of
~108556
the center panelO
Referring to Figures 5 and 6, a tear strip por-
tion 11 capable of being cut and lifted by a breakable line
10 is formed in the center panel portion 6 of gasket 50
~he tear strip portion 11 is only partly surrounded by the
breakable line 10, and is integrated with the remainder of
~ the center panel portion 6 of th.e gasket at a non-continuous
; portion 12 of the breakable line lOo ~he breakable line 10
: ~ may be any of a score, slit or perforation line as described
~: 10 hereinabove with regard to the breakable line 80
In operation, the tear strip portion 11 of the
closure shown in Figures 5 and 6 is cut and lifted by a
finger nail or a tool, and is further lifted by holding it
~ with fingersO Since the tear strip portion 11 is integratedF 15 with the center panel portion 6 at the non-continuous por-
i~,~ . .
~ tion 12, the entire center panel portion 6 can be separated
~`~ :;:
~ from the closure by this operationO
~J ::
Desirably, a l~nob 13 is provided at the tip portion
`~ of the tear strip portion 11 as shown by a dotted line in
Figures 5 and 6 in order to facilitate the operation of cut-
ting and lifting the tear strip portion llo ~he size and
r
.~ shape of the knob 13 may be the same as those described
hereinabove with regard to knob 9 shown in Figures 2 and 30
In the embodiment shown in Figures 5 and 6, a
reinforcing rib 15 may be provided in order to prevent the
` breakage of a weak bridging portion 14 near the non-continuous
portion 12 of the tear strip portion 11 during the lifting
of the tear strip portion 11 and the center panel portion 60
~he tear strip portion 11 is wedge-shaped in Figure
35~6
57 but this shape is not limitativeO For example, various
shapes shown in (~)~ (B) and (C) in Figure 7 may be em-
ployedO For example, as shown in (A) of Figure 7, one end
of V-shaped breakable line 10 is connected to the breakable
line 8, an~ -the other end terminates halfways in the center
panel portion 6 leaving some bridging por-tion 140 Alterna-
tively, as shown in Figure 7~ (B) and (C), one end of a
convoluted or S--shaped breakable line 10 is connected to
the breakable line ~, and the other end terminates at the
central par-t of the center panel portion 6 of the gasketO
Of course~ a knob 13 may be provided at the tip
portion of -the tear s~trip portion surrounded by the break-
able line 10, as shown by a dotted line in each of (A), (B)
and (C) of Figure 7O
The gasket of the various shapes described here-
inabove is applied to the inner bottom surface of a closure
sh~ll by the ordinary molding methodO Molding can be per-
formed easily by using a molding punch which has a projec-
tion or a depression for forming a breakable line and as
required, a knob or rib on its surfaceO
According to the closure of this invention, only
the center panel portion of the gasket is separated and
removed~ and the peripheral sealing portion remains firmly
adhered to the inner bottom surface of the closure shellO
Thus~ even after the center panel portion has been separated
for determining the indication of a pri7e offer, the closure
can be used for re-sealingO mhe closure of this invention
can therefore be used widely for large-capacity containers
with the indication of a pri~e offer for sales promotionO
-- 10 --
s~
When the closure of the invention is used for
return~ble bottles7 it has the advantage of protecting
the sealing end of the used bottles at the time of
recoveryO
~,
